When my husband got laid off, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do. We had a little bit of savings but not enough to take us through more than a month or two before we’d find ourselves in trouble. I decided that, in addition to picking up overtime, I’d try to cut back as much as I could.

Basic things were easy. I stopped shopping at the midrange grocery store and went to the discount place. I was actually really impressed with what I found there. We used to have pizza night every Friday and get delivery from our favourite little place in town but now we make our own pizzas at home for a third of the price.

I cancelled the cable, which was really hard to do but ended up saving a lot of money. I turned the thermostat down a few degrees and we piled on the heavy socks and blankets at night, which made a pretty big difference in our gas bill.

The best thing I did, though, was take a look at our car insurance. I had never stopped to wonder who has the cheapest auto insurance before. I mean, I’ve been with the same company since I got my first car when I was 18 and just assumed I was getting a good deal. It wasn’t long until I discovered I was actually getting a pretty bad one.

Between all the cuts I’d made and the OT, we were able to make it through the three months my husband was unemployed.

The best part is when he did find a job, he was making significantly more than he was before. That extra income combined with all the ways I’d figured out how to save money put us in a pretty good place financially. We ended up paying off most of our debt in his first year back to work.

I also got a promotion! My boss saw me putting in all the extra time and liked what I was contributing. I almost couldn’t believe it. In a way, my husband losing his job was one of the best things that ever happened to us! Though it sure didn’t seem like it at the time.